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Off the leash

The internet is a crowded place with lots of action sports videos. Two Berlin based kitesurfers found a way to stand out. We talked with them about escaping everyday life and a winterly bikini scene.

CN: Hello Patrick, hello Sebastian! The fact that your movie not only has kite action but also tells a story, really fascinated us. What is your movie about?

Patrick: A sad, unhappy Berlin Bear has a dead-end job. Every day he stands at Alexanderplatz working as a marketer, sweating and being laughed at. One morning he oversleeps, rushes to work but is still fired. On the way home, sad and desperate, he sees a CORE Kiteboarding ad. Inspired he gets on his moped and makes his way to the Baltic Sea where he kites his troubles away. At the end he discards his old persona (the Bear costume) and walks towards a better future with two beautiful bikini clad woman at his side.

CN: How did you get to this idea and what are you trying to say?

Sebastian: Firstly we wanted to make kite videos together. So on a grey Sunday afternoon in Berlin we sat down together and started brainstorming: The story should be funny, but should also reflect our fascination and sacrifice for the sport. It should include all the things that can distract us from kiting like work and everyday life. There is nothing better than packing up on a Friday evening, leaving everything behind and driving to the Baltic Sea and kiting your heart out. It was important for us to illustrate that especially in stressful times one should not forget kiting. At one point Patrick came up with the idea of the bear, which we then tracked down and purchased on ebay. We couldn’t wait to get the bear out onto the water.

CN: The fact that part of the film was shot in Berlin is probably obvious for most people – with the scenes of Alexanderplatz. Where was the kiting filmed?

Sebastian: Exactly, we started off shooting in Berlin at the beginning of June. It was over 30 degrees and to say that Patrick, in his Bear costume, had a warm day is an understatement.

Patrick: The Kiting was filmed in July in Mönchgut on Rügen near Thiessow. After the costume shots we had a really good session on the water. We had one problem: There was a perfect, empty flat-water spot but no girls for the final scene. Sebastian had a motorbike tour in Morocco and I had school stress and as a result we only shot the final scene in November. I phoned two girlfriends, on a sunny day, and after a few hours we had completed the final scene at the Müggelsee in Berlin. Even though it was very cold the girls were extremely brave and persevered to the end.

CN: What’s it like kiting in a costume?

Patrick: Pretty heavy. We knew that the costume would soak up water, like a sponge, when we fell; and that is exactly what happened – I was kiting with an extra 20kg. The most difficult aspect was the limited visibility, which meant I had to hold back a lot. The fun factor was however over the top and we soon had a lot of spectators on the beach. It won’t be the last time we see Bears on the water.

CN: The video is really professionally made. Are your filming and editing skills self-taught or did you have outside assistance?

Sebastian: No, we didn’t have any outside assistance. I have been an editor for many years and have my own editing company, where we produce trailers for TV. When Patrick and I met he had already acquired a lot of knowledge and it was clear to us that we wanted to create our ideas together.

CN: Thanks for the interview.

Behind the scenes

Life is a journey. Kiteboarding has taken us to the best spots on the planet and allowed us to get to know the local kiters from all corners of the globe. At the same time we have been able to delve into the technology behind the products that we use on a daily basis and catch a glimpse behind the scenes of the kite industry. There are many interesting characters behind the products and it became clear to us, that CORE is not only made up of a team from the Fehmarn Island but instead is made up of people from the world’s beaches. Therefore we became a part of something much bigger.

The idea behind our web-experiment CoreNation is to allow us to share our experiences with you. We want to take you with us on our journeys and share our adventures, experiences and our daily work with you. Enjoy!